PC Security World

Google Thumbnail previews Search enhancement

I was surprised to see a thumbnail previews of websites in my Google search results this morning. It's worth sharing that Google has added one more nice search enhancement after Instant. Google users will now be able to see a larger thumbnail preview of pages they're going to visit beforehand in the right hand side. They can then decide right there whether to visit the page or not. Needless to mention, Bing has been having somewhat similar feature right from the start. See how a query on PC Security keyword shows up in results now.  This may not go favorably for Google sponsored results since the thumbnail may overshadow sponsored results of the right hand side completely. I'm not sure if sponsored results will also get thumbnail previews. Last checked, they were not displaying any for such results.

TheWorld Browser - Just another IE based browser or worth something?

I have tested a number of IE core based browsers like Maxthon, Avant Browser, Crazy browser etc. I had few of them put to test years ago on the pc security blog.

For the uninitiated, IE based browsers utilize internet explorer browser rendering engine. That means the system has to have internet explorer for them to work. They are quite like IE in terms of page display along with some new feature enhancements of their own.

I stumbled across TheWorld browser which appeared quite promising initially and lured me enough to download it and put to test. Here's what I found that may enlighten some users still looking for a browser that fits their needs.

First, lets' see what the publishers say...

TheWorld Browser provides a fast, safe, and easy way to browse the Web. It will revolutionize your internet experience with many useful features that other browsers don't provide. Give it a try, we guarantee our browser is 100% malware free.

Some of the intelligent features it claims to have are...

• Multi-threaded frame support
• Intelligent ad blocking
• Built in powerful time saving tools
• Built in download manager with resume support
• Skins and plugins options

What I liked

While testing this browser, I did like some enticing features like it seemed very light weight both in terms of download size and resource utilization. It doesn't hog so much memory like othe mainstream browsers like opera and firefox do. There is built-in resource utilization setting which is definitely a nice touch.  It means you can change in settings how memory and cpu should be utilized...plus there are a number of customization options..Inprivate browsing is also a nice addon that comes along with default installation.

Performance enhancement and resources utilization
I liked performance optimization module which gives us ablility to tweak how cpu and memory resources should be utilized.

The ability to load multiple websites during start up...

Built in Download manager with download resume support..

A good number of options to change browser skin color and ability to more skins
See below how well you can change skin and look and feel of browser.

What was found lacking

Things that I found lacking were...

I did not see any option to customize tab bar placement..(you can't put it in bottom as many of us are used to)..
There was no option to undo closed tabs

Other glitches
You can't change user agent string..it leaves its own on the website. Worst, you can't use IE user string. There was no option to select user string. This means my Gmail would only work in classic mode and despite numerous attempts will not work in html mode. For this, I know you can't entirely blame the browser. Gmail should equally share the blame.

Browser still lacks professional looks
Despite having a number of skinning options and ability to set colors, I believe Theworld still needs a bit of facelifting to achieve that professional look other mainstream browsers sport these days.

Opinion
I believe the browser is good enough at this small size and offers a lot of customization. You can add more plugins to increase features just like firefox and others. Given some more and a little more innovation put into it, this browser could definitely shape up to be a very good one among IE based browsers.

Please note: I have not tested the browser from security point of view. The developers claim it to be completely free of any sort of malware.

Give it a try here:- http://www.ioage.com/en/download.htm

Let us all know what you think.

How to secure firefox for safer browsing

We all are accustomed to using firefox. But, have you been giving any thoughts to browsing safely using firefox. Just keeping it updated will not secure your browsing. To achieve a good degree of pc security, you need to know how to secure your brower. This is not going to be a comprehensive post about firefox, I'm sure a lot would be left unsaid, still, I'll help cover the basics. Using the points described, you'll be able to secure your firefox to a good extent. Let's go...

Things to notice

The default firefox installation. There are few things to tweak right in the default firefox installation. Like, if you have been storing a lot of passwords, it is a good idea to set a master password to prevent other users from accessing your passwords easily. The other users could be your friends, officemates, brother or anyone else you'd not like to disclose your passwords.

Other things to take note of are history, cookies and saved form information. Firefox by default saves form information and history and cookies also (sadly you can't eat these cookies, they're just for the browser to relish!). If you feel the need, you can delete your browsing tracks, cookies and other information from Tools -> clear recent history. This comes very handy if you're using a friends' computer or accessing internet from outside in an internet cafe etc. Although if you're continuously using internet from a machine other than users, I will strongly suggest you activate the built in 'Private browsing' mode from Tools menu.

Firefox with addtional addons for security and privacy

Now, lets put some addons to increase our pc security and privacy.

Prefbar  Let's start with Pref bar which comes very handy when you have to change firefox settings on the fly. This is the one I always install with my installation of firefox. With pref bar, you get the power to control and change firefox options on the fly. You can disable or enable popups, cookies, referer, fonts, colors, javascript, java, images, flash and a lot more. Do not miss this. While browsing, just make sure you avoid java, flash unless absolutely necessary. You could also try turning referer unchecked for a little more security. Although, you'd be needing it on some sites.

NoScript  - Next comes noscript which has been around for years and one of the main addons for safer browsing. As the developer says, The best security you can get in a web browser!
It'll allow active content to run only from sites you trust, and protect yourself against XSS and Clickjacking attacks. You can enable and disable script on per site basis with this. That means you can selectively allow which sites can run scripts. The other ones could then be blacklisted.

Adblock plus - Looking to block adds and those nasty popup and popups and all types of flash and stupid image banners that you don't like seeing. Adblock comes to the rescue.
A very handy and effective tool to block advertisements and other online nuisances. Install Adblock Plus now to regain control of the internet and change the way that you view the web. The add-on is supported by over forty filter subscriptions in dozens of languages which automatically configure it for purposes ranging from removing online advertising to blocking all known malware domains. Although it has been found to leave some trail as some sites are found to be identifying that adblock is installed on the browser and request users to switch it off before allowing access.

Needless to say, with a very little effort by installing above addons and modifying firefox settings a little, you'll be able to attain a good level of browsing security. And, safer browsing means better pc security.

Ccleaner Enhancer for Ccleaner makes PC cleaning even better

You may very well be acquainted with the nice little ccleaner utility which helps clean up junk residing in your pc and helps in pc optimization and privacy. It frees up disk space by removing unused / unneeded files and makes your computer run better. Now, the problem with Ccleaner is little number of programs it supports (though they are enough for most of the pc users). Did you know there is another nice tool available that enhances ccleaners' power and makes it one of the most comprehensive pc cleaning tool available. Meet Ccleaner Enhancer, This small tool adds support for over 270 new programs into CCleaner which is more than sufficient for any serious junk file removal.

Download ccleaner enhancer and install over your already installed Ccleaner and it'll automatically integrate itself to the application expanding its cleaning capabilities manifold. Now, next time you think of removing crap from your pc, you know where to turn to. :)

Secure your Windows XP in 5 minutes

I know what you're thinking, the world is moving to Windows 7 and I am still blabbering about Windows XP. While the world is busy moving to a supposedly better, faster, stable next generation Windows 7 platform, there are a many of us who are still sticking to Windows XP and I think there is a reason for that as well. We love Win Xp!

Its' a great operating system if you ask me and it's been with me for all these years. So here's quick trick to make it faster, safer to use. No, we'll not be manually hacking and tweaking registry settings here. We'll be using a fantastic software SafeXP to increase pc performance and pc security. Beginners and Experts alike, both will love it. With SafeXP, you can...

• Disable unnecessary Windows services.
• Prevent Internet attacks.
• Remove Microsoft Windows Messenger (MSN) application completely.
• Disable tracking of your document history.
• Disable Messenger antispam, spyware-like data traffic of System, Internet Explorer, Media Player, Error Reporting and much more  functions into a single easy to use software.

and do much more...Lets' first download it from here:- http://www.theorica.net/download.htm

Run the program and click recommended settings button and you're done. You can ofcourse do more if you wish to, just make sure you do not disable any windows service that you've been relying on. Many keep windows update enabled and that's a good thing, so just keep an eye on it in the general column.

Now tell me, did it take more than 5 minutes? I bet. :)

How to remove CSRCS.exe virus

Is your pc infected with CSRCS.exe virus? Finding it difficult to completely remove this virus? PC Security Forum has here some good information & steps to Remove csrcs.exe virus.

All you have to do is:-

1. Open Task Manager, locate csrcs.exe (not csrss.exe) under the processes tab and kill the process.
2. Click start -> run and type msconfig in the Run box, and then go to startup tab. Locate this exe file, if any, and then remove it from there to prevent it from starting up.
3. Open windows explorer, click tools -> folder options -> view and check the radio box "show hidden files and folders" also uncheck "hide protected operating system files (recommended)"
4. Go to your system 32 folder by start -> run -> and typing "system32" without quotes. Locate csrcs.exe and shift delete the file. Alternately, you can search the file using windows search in all the drives. Delete all the csrcs.exe instances you find.

For complete details, head over to computer security forum link given above.
Later on, don't forget to run a full system scan using your antivirus and antispyware software and you're good to go.

All new Opera 10.51 gets better, faster and more Secure

Opera is a nice browser and I have been using it for a long time. However, earlier I occasionally ran into few problems while accessing my Gmail account or working on Google Docs. Sometimes some download links wouldn't just work, working on a spreadsheet in Google docs would prove cumbersome. I preferred chrome or firefox more while working on Docs. But, now, things are changing with the all new opera 10.50 plus series. The new opera is faster & better than ever. Opera software claims it the fastest browser on Earth. See here:- http://my.opera.com/portalnews/blog/2010/03/22/opera-10-51-released-the-fastest-browser-just-got-faster

Opera is also termed as the most secure browser with tons of innovating features like site specific blocking, private browsing mode in tabs or new windows, integrated pop up blocking, quick preferences to enable and disable certain features and lots more. Features like these will certainly help bump up your pc security.
As a pleasant surprise, the new version has got faster javascript rendering engine, Google docs run smoother than ever. Websites load up faster. The browser itself starts up very fast in comparison to other browsers around and is not a memory hog. It makes use of available system resources efficiently. Opera has a number of great features just out of the box which other browsers lack like integrated Mail, Download resume support, Opera Unite, Opera Link, Opera Turbo, built-in Torrent support. It is the most aesthetically pleasing also out of the lot. All in all, Opera browser is a great piece of software and offers great feature set just out of the box. What's more? You can download it for your favorite Operating system be it Windows, Linux or Mac. PC Security world heartily recommends Opera browser for its innovating feature set.

Download new version below and turbo charge your web browsing experience.